Warsaw, Poland

Last weekend we visited our buddy Brian from Minneapolis in Poland. It was surprisingly awesome. Warsaw, though very windy, was a beautiful city. Since it was basically destroyed in WWII, it was all reconstructed giving it a very clean and tidy feel while keeping the older influences.


The exchange rate from Euros was 4.5 to 1 so we were living like Kings in this relatively cheap city. We ate heartily and drank heartily and burped heartily...just kidding about the burping. But honestly, we couldn't complain about the food.


We ate boiled and fried Pierogi (dumplings) stuffed with potato and cottage cheese or sour kraut and mushrooms at restaurants and milk bars, which are government subsidized canteen style restaurants that serve hearty food at half the price.

a painting of a lady at a milk bar from the Polish art gallery's modern art section.

The milk bar we went to. I loved the buttercup yellow and cholcolate brown decor.

We enjoyed cake for breakfast (great idea Brian!) where I marveled at their hand customised grandma-cool wallpaper.


Hard to say what the best parts were. I really enjoyed the Polish Uprising Museum. It as very well done with the decor and ambiance sound effects and lighting. The museum was very mixed with artefacts, videos, recreations and such.

Model of Warsaw destruction during the war.

We read about the guy who inspired the movie the Pianist

Another great moment was the night of Karaoke. Brain was a real crooner and had the 80% female population of Warsaw swooning.

Polish chicks drink beer with grenadine through a straw.

We rode to the top of this giant 'gift' from Stalin to the people of Poland. They hate it as much as the French hate the Eiffel Tower. Yet, like the French, will probably never take it down.

The palace or castle of Warsaw was also neat. After it was burnt to the ground, it was only reconstructed in the 70s. Which means that when you wander the rooms you really feel like you were seeing the palace as the ancient Polish population would in their day.


A few recurring themes in the palace are intricate hardwood floors, monkey-like lions, and thrones.


We also saw the tomb of the unknown soldier, a cool Solidartiy temporary exhibit on the main street and Chopin's heart (or where it's hidden anyway) It is sealed in the wall at a local church. His body is burried in the Père Lachaise cemetery in France.

We went to a traditional Polish restaurant for our last night out in Poland. It was a pretty, rustic style ambiance where the servers were dressed as traditional Polish peasants. The menu was thick as a book and we rounded out our meal with plenty of house vodka shots.

The last day, before our flight, we saw a classical piano concert in a large park near Brian’s.


I love how the Chopin statue seems to look over his shoulder with solemn respect at the pianist.


This park also has peacocks, horses and Narnian lamposts.



On they way home we had the best view.

Thanks again Brain for the fabulous visit!

P.S. Other things that made us smile:

a local

Pierogi dosen't sit well with Ronald

Ronald's Polish porcelin throne. Strange.

Poland has a minor bug problem.

Charles de Gaulle was there too!